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flDHESWE CEMENT Fmsnc, Emsmc J. W. CUNNINGHAM. 0H. TANK CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED JAN.27. 1911.

Patented July 15, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I J. W. CUNNINGHAM. OIL TANK CONSTRUCTION.

APELICATION FILED JAN. 27. I917. 1,310,064,

Patented July 15, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- PLHSTIC Ems-no GDHESIVE CEMENT awwwntoz k JOHN W. GUNMNQHHM JOHN W. (TURNING,

OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA.

GIL-TAN K CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented July 15, 19119,

' 7 Application filed January 27, 1917. Serial No. 144,993.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. CUNNING- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tulsa, in the county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements'in Oil-Tank Construction, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyin drawings. his invention relates to tanks'for containing highly inflammable hydrocarbon oils and particularly to an improved joint between the roof of the tank and the side wall of the tank.

The general object of the invention is to protect the tank from fire by sealing the joint between the roof and the wall of the tank, so that the highly inflammable vapors and gases withinvthe tank cannot leak through this joint and be ignited by lightnincgg rtain descriptions of petroleum, or

like hydrocarbons, evaporate freely in common temperatures and the vapor given ofi therefrom, being heavier than air, remains for a considerable length of time in any receptacle capable of holding a liquid or in ma a stream similar to that of a liquid stream. Such an inflammable vapor will readily pass through the cracks, joints, or other slight openin s in a retaining tank and as this vapor'is ighly inflammable and capable of carrying back flame to the source from whence it emanated, there is reat liability of oil containing tanks catching fire and exploding. Lightning, for instance, sets fire to these oil tanks by igniting these inflammable gases and vapors and, as before stated, the general object of this invention is to avoid or prevent the ignition of the gases and particularly to provide means whereby the tank may be hermetically sealed so that the Va or cannot escape except through a special y designed protective vent pipe, such as forms the subject matter of my Patent No.- 1,157,763, grants/don the 26th day of October, 1915, or such as illustrated.

A further object "of the invention is to provide an elastically expansive and confiow unperceived for some distance in the side wall 11 and the roof 12.

wall 11 at its upper edge is preferably protractive joint between the roof and wall of an oil tank, which joint, however shall be gas proof, and

A further object is to so construct the tank that a wall or covering of plastic and adhesive material may be disposed all around the joint between the roof and the wall so that the joint or crack between the roof and the top ring of the gas tank may be kept gas tight.

Other objects will appear in the course 0 the following description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tank provided with my improvement;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 2-2'of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the construction shown inFig. 2;

Fig. 4; is a top plan view of the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of. a modified form of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 5.

Two forms of construction are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, one of these forms being shown in Figs. 1 to 4. In these figures, 10 designates a tank of metal, constructed in any suitable manner and having The side vided with an annular angle iron 13 which is riveted to the top ring of the tank, this top ring being made of steel plates.

Restin upon the angle iron 13 are the sheathing boards 14- which are covered over with sheathing material of any suitable construction and designated 15, the roof being provided at one point with a vent opening, preferably constructed in accordance with my patent previously referred to, and with a gage box whereby the contents of the tank may be gaged. The tank itself, as heretofore referred to, may be formed in any suit able or usual manner and I do not wish to be limited to any special construction for the wall or roof of the tank.

For the purpose of providing an elastithe tank and its lower margin is deflected so as to bear flat against the side wall of the tank. A band or ring 17 extends around the tank and bears against the upper margin of this flattened portion, as illustrated in Fig. 2, so as to make a gas ti ht joint between the lower margin of the and 16 and the wall of the tank. Above this band or ring 17, the sheet metal band 16 is outwardly and upwardly flared to a point above the upper flange of the angle iron 13, but slightly below the corner of the roof of the tank. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the upper margin of this band 16 is turned over upon itself or crimped, as at 18, and metal straps 19 are disposed at uniform distances around the tank roof, which straps are attached to the upper edge of the band 16 or formed integral with this band 16 and bent over and attached to the roof, as, for instance, by nails or screws 20.

There is thus provided a trough which will surround the joint between the roof and the side wall of the tank, one side of this trough being formed by the sheet metal band 16 and the other side being formed by the tank wall. This trough is filled with an elastic, plastic, and adhesive material designated 21, similar to roofing cement. This material has suflicient body to insure that it will remain elastic, plastic, and adhesive, for a relatively great length of time, and it will be seen that these elastic materials, designated 21, will absorb any expansion and will contract upon any contraction of the metal-of the tank or of the roof and thus keep the joint between the roof and the top ring of the tank gas tight. It will be seen that the upper side of the outer wall of the trough formed by the band 16, ex-

tends to a point a suitable distance from the extreme outside edge of the roof and slightly lower than this extreme outside edge, in order that the trough may be filled with the elastic cement 21, and in order that the upper surface of the cement may be downwardly sloping so that the water accumulating on the roof during storms will run off.

In Fig. 5 I show a slightly modified con struction. The construction of the tank is the same as previously described and at: tached to the side wall of the tank is the sheet metal band 16*, held in place by bolts or rivets at its lower edge, and by the hoop 17, this sheet metal 16' extending upward and outward, as previously described, and then, after the trough so formed is filled with the elastic material 21, the upper margin of the band is bent back so as to lie flat upon the roof to which it is attached by the nails, screws, or other suitable attaching means 20. The filling 21 is of the same material, as above stated, namely, a plastic, elastic, adhesive cement, which will permit the expansion of the tank elements, without any break in its continuity and which will contract in accordance with the contraction of the tank elements. By bringing the upper margin of the band 16 over the edge of the tank and nailing it thereto, the cement 21 will be held in a receptacle tight enough to make it more elastic and it will obviously be less likely to dry out. It will be obvious that the principle of the invention is the same in both embodiments. It will also be obvious that the principle of the invention may be carried out in various manners and that the invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated. I

A construction of the character described prevents a large part of the escapement of oil contained in the tank and makes it possible to force the gas which accumulates in the tank through a properly constructed vent intended to carry the gas away and to prevent back flash in case the gas becomes ignited, thus minimizing the evaporation of the oil and very greatly reducing the hazard from fire.

Having described my invention what I claim is 1. A tank comprising a metallic vertical wall, an angle iron attached to the upper edge of the wall and having a horizontal flange projecting outward from the wall at its upper edge, roof members resting upon the flange of the angle iron and extending beyond said flange, roof sheathing attached to said roof members, a band of sheet metal having its lower margin in contact with the wall of the tank below the angle iron and attached thereto to form a gas tight joint, the sheet metal band above this joint but below the lower edge of the angle iron being outwardly and upwardly deflected to a point approximately level with the outer edge of the roof sheathing and having its upper edge connected to the roof sheathing, and filling material disposed in the space between the band and the wall and extending upward to the upper edge of the band to thereby cover the joint between the wall and the roof and prevent the escape of gases from said joint.

2. A tank having a metallic side wall, an angle iron attached to the upper portion of the side wall and having a horizontal flange outwardly projecting from the side wall, roof members supported upon said flange, a metallic sheathing coveringthe roof-members, a metallic band attached at its lower margin to the wall below the angle iron and extending entirely around the tank, said band extending upward and outward from a point spaced from the lower edge ofthe angle iron to a point approximately level with the outer margin of thereof sheathing and then being bent inward and extending over and attached to the roof, and a permanently plastic mass of material filling the space between the band and the'wall extending upward to a level with the top of said band and covering the joint between the 10 roof and the wall.

Intestimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. CUNNINGHAM.

Witnesses:

L. A. SHIELDS, M. O. Renew. 

